HAVANA – Cuban Ministry of the Interior leadership disclosed on Friday evening the contents they claim were discovered on a speedboat registered in Florida that engaged in gunfire with military personnel in coastal waters earlier this week, resulting in troops returning fire and fatally shooting four individuals.
Authorities also told The Associated Press that investigators determined the 10 Cuban individuals departed from the United States using two vessels, though one experienced mechanical problems, forcing the group to move all equipment to the operational boat while abandoning the disabled craft.
Government representatives stated that apprehended individuals provided these details during questioning and emphasized that U.S. Coast Guard officials were notified immediately.
Cuban authorities reported finding numerous items on the vessel: twelve high-caliber firearms, one equipped with a telescopic sight; a large cooler containing over 12,800 rounds of ammunition; eleven handguns; military-grade footwear, helmets equipped with recording devices; and tactical backpacks in camouflage patterns.
“We could clearly determine that we were confronting a terrorist operation launched from a vessel originating in the United States,” stated 1st Col. Ivey Daniel Carballo from Cuba’s Border Guard Troops during an interview with the AP.
Carballo explained that their 30-foot patrol vessel spotted the unauthorized craft Wednesday morning and moved to approximately 600 feet away for inspection purposes, but came under attack from high-caliber weapons.
The colonel reported that three attackers died immediately while a fourth sustained injuries and succumbed later.
Carballo noted the speedboat’s position was roughly one mile northeast of Cayo Falcones along the northern coastline. He added that the border guard commander sustained injuries during the encounter.
Victor Eduardo Álvarez Valle, a senior Criminal Investigation official with State Security at the Interior Ministry, informed the AP that authorities were caught off guard by the level of opposition they faced.
“We didn’t expect it, especially with that many people and weapons,” he stated.
“The military equipment found on board has been identified by the assailants, including where and how they acquired it, and the training they received. They also revealed who financed it,” Álvarez continued.
He pointed out that investigators counted 13 bullet impacts on the border patrol vessel and 21 additional strikes on the suspects’ boat, “meaning that there was combat.”
While Cuban officials initially reported Wednesday that one person had been apprehended on shore, Álvarez indicated that currently, no evidence suggests the suspects maintained any assistance network within the island.
Edward Robert Campbell, Cuba’s chief prosecutor within the Attorney General’s Office directorate, informed the AP that the six detained individuals, all of Cuban heritage, may face terrorism accusations carrying potential penalties of three decades imprisonment, life sentences, or capital punishment, though executions have been suspended for over ten years.
The Associated Press received access to Cuban military leadership and viewed the confiscated materials displayed at the former Cuban Institute of Radio and Television facility before a broadcast that presented them publicly for the first time.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated this was not an American government operation and confirmed that U.S. officials were conducting their own investigation.
